Saturday 19 September 2009

The Spud

As the leaves begin to change and fall, I am thinking of autumn menus. Comfort foods come in many different forms don't they? What might be comfortable to me, might not be comfortable to you. Since I was raised on Louisiana and Tex-Mex cooking, those are the foods that I crave for comfort.

In not so sunny, frugal, Scotland, comfort foods find their roots in what is plentiful. And that my friends, is the potato. In many different forms: as chips (french fries to you and me), baked, boiled, or mashed.

Chips are served with many things here. Even pizza. And sometimes they are lacking in salt and most times they are accompanied by fried fish. Yummy, sometimes. The chips are either plain, salted, salt and vinegar, or with ketchup. Or curry. Or mayonnaise.

And the Baked Potato on many menus includes toppings that do little to comfort me. Baked beans and tuna fish are the 2 that really challenge me.

Mashed potatoes are found mainly in pies. Not sweet pies, but cottage pie, steak pie, fish pie, etc. I'm sure they are lovely if prepared by your mom or grandmother, but again, they've done little to comfort me.

As we brace ourselves for the cold Scottish fall and winter, I will continue to savor the memories of my comfort foods and I will continue to support Lupe Pintos Deli. Happy Harvest!